Stories of the calling of female ministers in the Dutch Reformed
Church played out over a period of approximately 107 years. The
folk mother discourse, which silenced women’s voices in public,
developed in the Afrikaner community during this period.
It is evident that female ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church
have generally not participated actively in the debate on the
admission of women to specific offices. Most of the contributors to
this study experience some discomfort with matters of gender and
feminism. As in the folk mother discourse, they leave the talking to
others.
In this article the development of the folk mother discourse is
examined and female ministers are asked to examine their
experiences in this regard. The central question is: What can the
church do to help women take co-responsibility in the gender
debate.